This invention relates to an automobile vehicle wire harness protector and, more particularly, to a protector for a wire harness that can be attached through clips to a bent vehicle body member to absorb dimension errors even if the positions of the clips are shifted from the positions of the engaging holes in the vehicle body member.
Heretofore, a protector mounted on a wire harness was secured to a vehicle body to define and protect the wire harness.
For convenience of explanation, a prior art protector for a wire harness is described with reference to FIG. 9. FIG. 9 is a side elevation view of a conventional protector for a wire harness.
For example, as shown in FIG. 9, a protector body 2 is formed into a substantially J-shaped configuration corresponding to a bent configuration of a vehicle body member. A wire harness W/H is inserted into the protector body 2 and a lid 3 is mounted and locked on a protector 1. Two clip sections 3a and 3b are formed integrally with the lid 3 of the protector 1. The clip sections 3a and 3b are inserted into and engage with engaging holes H1 and H2 in a vehicle body P. If only one clip section 3a or 3b is provided on the lid 3, the protector 1 may be rotated about the clip section 3a or 3b. This makes it difficult to position the protector 1 on the vehicle body P.
However, since the clip sections 3a and 3b are formed integrally with the lid 3, the distance is fixed between the clip sections 3a and 3bd. Consequently, if a large dimension tolerance occurs between the lip sections 3a and 3b and the engaging holes H1 and H2, the positions of the clip sections 3a and 3b are shifted. Thus, the positions of the engaging holes and the clip sections do not align and the clip sections cannot be inserted into the engaging holes.
In the case where the vehicle body P has a bent configuration, as shown in FIG. 9, when one clip section 3b of the protector 1 is engaged with one engaging hole H2 in the vehicle body P, it may be difficult to engage the other clip section 3a with the other engaging hole H1 due to the structure of the vehicle body P. Thus, it may be very difficult to attach the protector 1 to the vehicle body P. Consequently, a worker will forcedly deflect the protector 1 to insert the clip section 3a into the engaging hole H1. This will lower the working efficiency of the protector.
In view of the above problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a protector for a wire harness that can be attached to a vehicle body member and, in particular, to a bent vehicle body member. The protector absorbs dimension errors even if large dimension tolerances exist between the clips and the engaging holes. The position of the clips may be shifted to engagement positions to engage engaging holes in the vehicle body member.
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a protector for a wire harness that is secured to a vehicle body member by more than two clips. The wire harness is inserted into a protector body with a concave configuration in cross section and has an opening at an upper side. The protector for the wire harness has at least one of the clips separated from the protector body. Each of the clips includes a base plate, a pole standing up on the base plate, and a pair of engaging wings provided on the top of the pole. The protector body is provided on each of the opposite sidewalls with a guide frame having a U-shaped cross section. The guide frames oppose one another. The opposite ends of the base plate of the clip are slidably inserted into the guide frames. The opposite ends close the opening in the protector body. The clip is adjustable with respect to an engaging hole in the vehicle body member.
According to the above construction, since the separate clips are slidably attached to the protector body, even if large dimension errors exist between the engaging holes in the vehicle body member, it is possible to attach and adjust the clips to the vehicle body member by sliding the clips so that the distance between the clips accords with the distance between the engaging holes. Accordingly, it is possible to enhance efficiency of attaching the protector to the vehicle body.
The base plates of the clips close the upper opening in the concave configured cross section protector body after the wire harness is inserted into the protector body. Thus, the clips serve to prevent the wire harness from coming out of the protector body.
Two or more separate clips may be added to the protector body. One of the two clips may be separate from the protector and slidably attached on the protector. The other clip may be integral with the protector body. Also, the other clip may be separate from the protector body so that the other clip is fixed to the protector body.
The protector body includes a plurality of opening and closing lids integrally connected through thin hinges to the protector body. The lids oppose the protector body. When the lids are locked on the protector body, clearances are defined between the base plates of the clips and the lids which enable the base plates to slide in the guide frames. The lids serve as stoppers for the base plates of the clips that slide in the guide frames.
According to the above construction, it is possible to prevent the clips slid into the guide frames from coming out of the guide frames by the adjacent lid when the lid is mounted and locked on the protector body. At the same time, the clearance between the base plate of the clip and the lid enables the clip to slide on the protector in a longitudinal direction. It is possible to insert the clip into the engaging hole in the vehicle body member while finely adjusting the position of the clip in accordance with a distance between the engaging holes.
Each of the base plates of the clips includes a protrusion on the bottom surface. The protrusion comes to a point contact with a lower surface of each of the guide frames. Thus, the clips can slide in the guide frames in a point contact manner.
The guide frames are tapered at their inlet port sides. This prevents the base plate of each clip from coming out of the guide frames in a horizontal direction.
The protector body has a bottom wall with a plurality of thin hinge sections that are spaced away from one another in a longitudinal direction. The protector body can be bent at the thin hinge sections. The clips are disposed between the thin hinge sections on the protector body. Thus, since the plural thin hinge sections are provided on the protector body so that the protector body is bent at plural positions, it is possible to flexibly attach the protector to the vehicle body in compliance with the bent configuration. This enhances attachment efficiency of the protector. Further, since it is possible to manipulate the protector body to follow any bent configuration of the vehicle body at the thin hinge sections, the types of protectors can be reduced.
The vehicle body member for supporting the clips includes a stationary element, a movable element relative to the stationary element, and a bendable link connected between the stationary element and the movable element. The protector body thin hinge section is bent in compliance with movement of the link.
Further areas of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating the preferred embodiment of the invention, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.